


Ready and Waiting

by Orange17



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/F, Sad Nicole Haught, Waiting Is The Hardest Part, after season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 16:56:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17005527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orange17/pseuds/Orange17
Summary: With Waverly gone, Nicole takes care of her Jeep while awaiting her return.





	Ready and Waiting

Nicole lifted her closed fist, using the side to heavily knock on the front door to the Homestead. The rusty hinges gave into the force, the door swaying in its frame. The sound carried, unnaturally loud in her ears, as it cut through the still air around her.

She lowered her hand, stuffing it into the pocket of her hoodie to warm up.

It felt...odd...to be knocking. She normally walked right in or was met on the porch with a kiss from Waverly.

She shook her head, pushing aside the memories of her girlfriend, swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, and knocked again.

The sound of shattering glass carried through the thin walls and Nicole cringed. With the horizon just starting to lighten, she knew it was early to be rousing Wynonna, but she had been up for, well, almost the entire night and couldn’t wait any longer to come here.

Heavy, shuffling steps approached the other side of the door. Nicole braced herself as she heard a hand fumble for the doorknob.

The door groaned open, revealing a disheveled Wynonna, her tank-top inside out, leggings hanging off her hip on one side, and missing one sock. Her eyes were closed as she leaned against the doorframe.

“Wynonna—“

She was quickly cut off as Wynonna raised a hand, signaling her to stop.

“Haught it’s either too early or too late for a booty call,” she mumbled, running her lifted hand over her face.

Nicole rolled her eyes, pushed past Wynonna into the entry and turned toward the kitchen. She made a beeline for the hooks by the back door, “Cowgirl” emblazoned across the top.

“Nicole, what are you doing?” Wynonna called after her, tone soft.

Nicole plucked Waverly’s keys off the hook and turned.

“It’s the first Tuesday of the month,” she mumbled.

Wynonna leaned against the open door frame, “Is this like a full moon thing? Waverly’s keys keep you from turning into a werewolf or something?”

Nicole looked down at the keys in her hand, running her thumb along the edge of the unicorn-painted key.

Her eyes drifted, taking in other keys on the ring. The one to Shorty’s and another that belonged to Gus and Curtis’ place that Waverly couldn’t bear to part with. And the gimmicky, Greece keychain from Wynonna.

Her hand curled tightly around them, the jagged edges cutting into palm and fingers, as she tried to stem a flood of memories.

Wynonna cleared her throat, and Nicole forced her focus to the woman across from her.

“I was thinking...someone should her run her Jeep occasionally, so it’s ready for her when she gets back.”

Nicole nodded absentmindedly, her hand loosening as she ran her thumb along the black plastic at the top of the Jeep key, “The oil needs changed too, I was going to do it...before she…”

Wynonna pursed her lips before turning toward her bedroom without a word.

Nicole turned, a hand on the doorknob when a gleeful shout from Wynonna stopped her in her tracks.

“Hey! Haught! Waverly will kill you if you get so much as a scratch on her baby. She loves that Jeep almost as much as you.”

Nicole chuckled, the closest to a laugh she had in weeks, “I know, Earp, I’ll be careful.”

\--

Nicole lowered the hood on the Jeep, before tightening the latches, double-checking that each one was secure before wiping her hands on a rag. As she tossed it in a bin, her eyes drifted toward the air compressor in the corner of her garage.

Biting her lip, she turned abruptly, jabbing the button on the wall. The garage door opener rumbled to life, and she climbed into the driver’s seat.

\--

Nicole eased the Jeep into the gas station parking lot, slowing aside the air pump. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she reached across the front seat, pulling a tire pressure gauge from the glove compartment before sliding out of the driver’s seat.

Her hands shook as she checked and filled, not only the right front tire that had a slow leak but all four tires.

Tears clouded her vision, obscuring the gauge, but she held them at bay until she hooked the hose back on the rack.

She quickly hopped back into the driver’s seat, wiping her face before anyone could see the tears sliding down her cheeks.

With a shaky deep breath, she turned the key in the ignition and slowly maneuvered the Jeep toward the road, cutting the wheel to turn right, back toward the Homestead. But as she looked to the left, back toward town, the idea of dropping off the Jeep and spending the rest of the day without the smell of Waverly’s perfume lingering in the air had no appeal.

Quickly checking the road to the right, she cut the wheel hard to the left, peeling out of the gas station parking lot. Cringing at the gravel she kicked up, she glanced at the gas station in the side mirror, mind replaying the first time she was there with Waverly. And this Jeep.

\--

The cruiser rolled slowly down the street; the front windows cracked as Nicole tried to soak in all she could of the mild weather.

Her eyes drifted from the road to the gas station, narrowing as they found the silhouette of an individual hunched over the steering wheel of a red Jeep Wrangler. Though she had been on her way home, she turned the wheel, directing her cruiser into the parking lot and coming to a stop next to the Jeep.

Placing her Stetson on her head, she eyed the individual in the driver’s seat, her throat closing when she recognized Waverly Earp behind the wheel. It had only been a few days since she met the bartender but, beer-soaked shirt aside, Waverly left an impression Nicole doubted she would forget.

Nicole strode in front of the Jeep on her way to the driver’s door, hoping to catch the woman’s attention with her movement. But Waverly was consumed by grief, if the shaking of her shoulders was any indication, and didn’t see her. Nicole swallowed heavily, the sobs carrying from the inside of the car, as she gently rapped her knuckles on the window.

Waverly jumped, eyes wide with shock. Nicole fought a smirk as Waverly’s jaw dropped the slightest bit before she shook her head, hastily wiping at her tear-soaked face with the back of one hand while using the other to wind down the window.

“Officer Haught! How are you?”

“I’m good,” Nicole replied easily, “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah,” Waverly nodded, still wiping at the tear tracks.

Nicole only raised an eyebrow in response.

“God, you must think I’m such a mess.”

“I would never,” Nicole replied sincerely. “Can I ask what you’re doing here though?”

Fresh tears shone in Waverly’s eyes, and Nicole could’ve kicked herself for prying.

“Sorry, Waverly, you don’t—”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Waverly assured, seemingly frustrated with her own grief as she wiped at her eyes again. “I have a slow leak in my one tire and my Uncle Curtis helps me check it and fill it and, uh…”

Waverly’s eyes closed but tears managed to slip out the corners.

Though Nicole longed to reach for Waverly and comfort her in some way, she held back, not wanting to push further than she already had. Instead, she rested her hand on the lower frame of the window.

“It’s the first time I’m here without him,” Waverly breathed, eyes still closed.

“Oh, Waverly, I’m so sorry.”

Waverly swallowed thickly before brushing away the most recent tears, finally opening her eyes, and turning to face Nicole.

“It’s okay, it’s just something new I’ll have to get used to doing myself.”

Nicole nodded slowly before inspiration struck. She pushed off the vehicle, tilting her head toward the vacant air pump.

“Come on, you’re not doing it alone today.”

“No, Nicole, it’s…”

But whatever it was, Nicole didn’t hear as she jogged toward the station. She turned toward the still idle Jeep, waiting. She caught an eye roll and a grin from Waverly before the Jeep roared to life.

After checking all four tires, Nicole leaned on the window frame head barely passing across the threshold and into the Jeep, “You’re all set.”

“Thank you,” Waverly beamed.

“My pleasure.”

“Um, I, uh, do you, um...nevermind,” Waverly stammered, hands flailing before wrapping tightly around the steering wheel.

“Are you sure?”

Waverly shook her head before turning to face her again with a deep inhale.

“I, um, still owe you that coffee...and I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the diner but you’re clearly working and—”

“I’m not,” Nicole interjected gently. “I was just on my way home.”

Waverly visibly deflated, “Oh then I shouldn’t keep you, but I’d love...like... _like_ the chance to fulfill my end of the deal...and maybe repay you for today...sometime.”

“There’s no time like the present, right?” Nicole drawled with a small smile.

“You sure?” Waverly asked, worrying her bottom lip.

“Absolutely. I’ll follow you?”

\--

Nicole eased the Jeep into a spot in front of the diner. She shifted into park and eased down the sunshade to check her appearance, cringing as she imagined how obvious her anguish would likely be. Her throat thickened, as flipping down the shade revealed a picture of her and Waverly, tucked into the side.

Nicole’s thumb hovered over the picture, stopping just short of touching the glossy surface. Everything else faded away as her focus narrowed until Waverly was all she saw; happiness etched into her features, from her upturned lips revealing a wide smile, that would never fail to bring one out of Nicole, to the scrunched skin at the corners of her eyes.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, eyes hungrily taking in the picture in front of her, until she felt hot tears slide down her cheeks. The warmth cut through her haze of grief, reminding her of her purpose in pulling down the visor.

She tore her eyes from the picture, and her vision slid across to the mirror. In spite of herself, Nicole’s eyes darted back to the photo, this time lingering on herself before returning to the mirror. No more than two years had passed but, as she took in her own appearance now, Nicole couldn’t help but notice that she barely resembled the woman in the photo. Her red-rimmed puffy eyes and cheeks irritated from her frantic and not-so-gentle tear-wiping aside, the dark circles beneath, her unruly red hair, and the extra shade of paleness to her already fair skin highlighted how well she was doing since Waverly disappeared up the stairs.

With a steadying breath, she did her best to tame her hair and pulled the collar of her hoodie up to her forehead, using the soft inside to dry her eyes. With a final glance at the picture, she snapped the shade back up and climbed out of the Jeep.

The bell above the door jingled as pushed it open, drawing attention to her as she entered. Nicole dug her hands deep into her hoodie and nodded to the few people scattered around the diner as she rushed to a particular table past the counter.

Before she could flip over the mug at her place, Chrissy was at the table with a pot of coffee in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

“The short stack, Sheriff?” Chrissy asked, placing the water in front of her before pouring coffee into the mug.

Nicole nodded, a small smile spreading across her face, “Thanks Chrissy.”

As Chrissy turned away, Nicole abruptly changed her mind, straying from her usual order.

“Actually...can you make it vegan pancakes...with a side of…”

“Blueberries,” Chrissy filled in knowingly, head tilting to the side. “Of course.”

Nicole looked away quickly, diverting her focus to the sugar packets. She reached for one, ripped it open and dumped half in her coffee.

As she stirred in the crystals, her vision slid across the table to the empty spot across from her.

She could picture the smug smirk that would be playing on Waverly’s face if her girlfriend was where she should be in that moment: seated across from Nicole.

Since that first time Nicole helped Waverly check the Jeep’s tire pressure, coming to the diner afterward and sitting at this spot had become their tradition.

A small smile fought its way onto Nicole’s face because Waverly was indeed a planner. In spite of the chaotic and unpredictable world that engulfed them too regularly, her girlfriend craved routine and stability. The habit she had formed in checking the air pressure in her tires on the first and third Tuesday of every month after Curtis told her she should do it about every other week, was only one example.

And, like clockwork, every time they were here for breakfast, Waverly never failed to try and sway her into ordering the vegan pancakes.

Nicole’s eyes narrowed as she pulled from her thoughts by an apronless Chrissy, returning with a plate of pancakes in each hand.

“No one should eat alone,” Chrissy smiled, placing one plate in front of Nicole before sliding into one of the chairs across from her, deliberately leaving the one next to the window empty.

Chrissy bit her lip before adding as she reached for a fork, “And I know Waverly wouldn’t want you to be here by yourself.”

\--

It continued in the months that Waverly was gone. Sometimes Nicole washed the Jeep, vacuumed out the interior, or completed some other needless maintenance task to spend just a little bit longer in the presence of something that seemed to bring her closer to Waverly.

Because when she was behind the wheel or under the hood, her girlfriend didn’t seem so...gone. Driving the Jeep and keeping it in working order served as a reminder that Waverly would be back.

Eventually.

After the fourth or fifth time of being woken at dawn on a Tuesday morning, Wynonna suggested Nicole keep the Jeep at her place. With a shrug the older Earp admitted she wasn’t driving it and if Nicole kept it she could run it more often.

In spite of how often her mind used to imagine that Jeep making her driveway home, she flat out refused.

Sometimes Wynonna tagged along after that. Other times, Chrissy, Jeremy, or Nedley found excuses to accompany her, either by asking for rides when she had the Jeep or happened to be in the diner, at her and Waverly’s table when she arrived.

But Nicole preferred to be alone because it meant she could make a detour without anyone noticing.

Nearly six months after Waverly walked up the stairs, Nicole parked the Jeep as close to the wooded location as she could and hopped out, striding to the spot Wynonna showed her. The same place, that a few months ago, she, repeatedly, had to be dragged away from. And the same spot she knows Waverly will return to.

She plopped down on the lawn chair that she left here in the early days of Waverly’s disappearance. It vaguely smelled like whiskey and Nicole couldn’t help but wonder, as she does every time she comes here, how often Wynonna occupies that chair.

As her back hit the back of the chair, she stilled. Quickly twisting, she looked at the backrest.

In spite of the shade and the chill in the air, the chair was warm as if it had been sitting in front of a roaring fire for hours.

Her eyes narrowed for a minute before she shook her head.

“Purgatory,” she mumbled, running a hand through her hair.

She leaned back, allowing the warmth to soak through her coat, and forced herself not to wonder if Waverly was cold...wherever she was...right now.

Nicole closed her eyes before she cleared her throat.

“Hi baby. I have your Jeep again and it’ll be ready and waiting for you when you come back. I checked that belt again, that one I told you about last time, and it looks the same. We’ll have to keep an eye on it…”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, not sorry for the feels here. Thank you to [@LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/LuckyWantsTo) for beta-ing and [Trash_PandaTO](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trash_PandaTO/) for support and a random comment that helped me figure out how to end this thing. 
> 
> You can find me on twitter [@dubiousorange17](https://twitter.com/dubiousorange17)!


End file.
